The Liceu, L’Auditori and the Palau de la Música Catalana bring symphonic music to Clàssica a la platja

Barcelona’s beach will once again come alive this summer to the rhythm of great symphonic music with a new edition of Clàssica a la Platja. On 8 and 9 July, at 21 h, Sant Sebastià beach will become a large open-air stage hosting two free concerts open to the public, in an initiative promoted by L’Auditori, the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Palau de la Música Catalana, under the umbrella of Barcelona Obertura and with the support of the Ajuntament de Barcelona and the Fundació “la Caixa”. The concerts will take place at Sant Sebastià beach, thanks to the space being made available by the Port de Barcelona.

This edition continues to focus on accessibility for all audiences with various measures that will improve mobility within the venue, as well as sound reception during the concerts, through special devices for people with hearing disabilities. In addition to the concerts on the 8th and 9th, three more concerts by the Orfeó Català choirs will bring music to groups who, for health reasons, cannot attend the beach concerts, through two performances in elderly care homes and one at Hospital del Mar.

The Fundació “la Caixa” joins the project once again as part of its commitment to promoting culture and ensuring citizens’ access to experiences of social transformation. The concerts, open to everyone, will occupy the sand of Sant Sebastià beach and will be staged from a 20 m wide by 22 m deep stage, covered with an orbit-type dome. The planned beach area has a capacity of around 22,000 people, with access through two entrances: on one side, between the Club Natació Atlètic Barceloneta and the Club Natació Barcelona (CNB), and on the other, along the CNB side at stage level.

The setup will include two screens so that people further away from the stage can enjoy the concert through Betevé’s production. There will be a 8 x 4.5 m screen next to the stage and another in the middle of the beach, measuring 6 x 3.5 m. For optimal television production, Betevé has planned a mobile unit that will control six cameras: one mounted on a crane, two at the front of the stage for close-ups of the musicians, another inside the stage providing close shots of the conductor, and two more positioned at the technical desk to offer wide panoramic views. In addition, to ensure that the sound properly reaches the more than 250 m length of the beach, a special audio system based on 1 DelayStereo will be installed in the middle of the beach.

Both concerts will be broadcast live by Betevé and Catalunya Música and will be enjoyed both by the audience present on the beach, via the screens, and by viewers at home. Likewise, both 3Cat and TVE will offer the concert on delayed broadcast at later dates.

These concerts are presented within the framework of Barcelona Obertura, an initiative resulting from the union of the city’s three most important classical music institutions −L’Auditori, the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Palau de la Música Catalana−, which aims to promote the city of Barcelona internationally through classical music and the commitment to making it accessible to everyone. Clàssica a la Platja is further evidence that the city’s three cultural music institutions work together to promote dissemination, enjoyment, knowledge and the value of the Barcelona brand, thereby promoting the image of an iconic, festive, joyful, family-friendly and sea-facing city, with the beach as yet another space to enjoy classical music.

Concert del 8 de juliol: Liceu Simfònic, music for everyone, with the Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu and Josep Pons

This year’s edition will begin on Wednesday, 8 July, at 21 h, with a concert by the Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, conducted by maestro Josep Pons. In a night designed to bring symphonic music closer to all audiences in a unique setting facing the sea, a programme full of strength, colour and rhythm will be offered, featuring some of the most popular and evocative orchestral works of the universal repertoire.

The concert is part of the 25è anniversary of the Petit Liceu and is intended for audiences of all ages. The repertoire will invite the audience to discover and recognise some of the most emblematic symphonic works of the universal repertoire, on a journey through pieces full of rhythm, lyricism and evocative power. From the popular energy of Brahms’s Hungarian Dance and Dvořák’s Slavic Dance to the magic and fantasy of The Nutcracker by Txaikovski. The evening will also include the intensity of Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances, the passion of Manuel de Falla’s El amor brujo, the rhythmic drive of Estancia by Ginastera, and will culminate with Maurice Ravel’s famous Boléro, in a great musical celebration open to all citizens.

Concert del 9 de juliol: An imaginary symphony, with the OBC and Ludovic Morlot

On 9 July, also at 21 h, the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (OBC) will take over Clàssica a la Platja under the direction of its chief conductor, Ludovic Morlot, with a symphonic evening conceived as a continuation of the great musical journey begun the previous day, in this case titled An imaginary symphony.

The second evening will combine different styles, atmospheres and sensibilities through a selection of movements from symphonies by some of the great names in European musical history, in a journey from Central European lyricism and melancholy to the energy and drama of great Russian symphonism. The concert will thus offer an experience full of emotional contrasts and melodies that are easy for the audience to recognise.

The evening will open with the first movement of Borodin’s Symphony No. 2, a work of great narrative strength and epic character, and will continue with a selection of passages of great expressive intensity, such as the “Allegro molto” from Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2, full of rhythmic energy and orchestral brilliance; the celebrated “Poco allegretto” from Brahms’s Symphony No. 3, one of the most delicate and evocative melodies of the Romantic repertoire; or the “Allegretto grazioso” from Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, which stands out for its dance-like spirit and melodic elegance. The concert will culminate with the vibrant “Finale” from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, an explosion of intensity and orchestral exuberance, considered one of the most spectacular and celebrated pages of Russian symphonism.

A more inclusive edition of Clàssica a la Platja

Another year, Clàssica a la Platja reaffirms its commitment to accessibility and inclusion with the aim of ensuring that all people can fully enjoy the musical experience. The initiative continues to incorporate specific measures to facilitate access to the concerts and guarantee that music reaches the whole of the public.

The attending audience with reduced mobility and/or special needs will be able to enjoy the concerts from a reserved space, an accessible area located on Passeig del Mare Nostrum, 15, in front of the Desigual building. The platform, measuring 12 x 4 m, will be placed in an optimal area with very good visibility of the stage.

As for the audience with deafness and hearing impairments, they will have access to equipment featuring the Immersive Live System, a service that will include a professional providing LSC (Catalan Sign Language) interpretation as a second language. These are vibrating backpacks with a tactile bass system, devices that are placed on the chest or back and convert sound frequencies into vibrations and that allow connection to an individual magnetic loop.

The choirs of the Escola Coral of the Orfeó Català will bring music to a hospital and two elderly care homes

Once again, the choirs of the Palau de la Música Catalana will bring music to those groups who, due to health circumstances, cannot go to the beach. Two music workshop-concerts are scheduled in two elderly care homes on Wednesday 10 June at 18 h: the Cor Petits of the Orfeó Català will perform at the Grup Assistencial Evangèlic centre, and the Cor Mitjans will perform at the Residència Augusta Park. These concerts are designed to encourage interaction between the young singers and the audience, making them active participants in the music. Regarding the repertoire, the Cor Petits is set to perform various Catalan songs, including Nou xef by Jordi Domènech, while the Cor Mitjans will offer a repertoire of traditional songs from different countries: Finland, the United States, Hawaii, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In addition, on Monday 15 June the Cor Jove will give a concert at Hospital del Mar, aimed at patients, families, and healthcare staff. It will perform works from the Catalan repertoire, with contemporary composers such as Josep Ollé and Josep Vila i Casañas, alongside traditional Catalan songs, as well as the Irish traditional Danny Boy and Rodgers’ Blue Moon.

This 2026 will be the fourth year that the Orfeó Català choirs carry out this initiative, which has already been very well received in previous editions.

Finally, the concerts of Clàssica a la Platja once again receive the support of the Fundació “la Caixa” and other sponsors such as Hutchison Ports Best and El Corte Inglés. Aigües de Barcelona also joins the project once again, providing the concert site with six water fountains for workers and artists, a gesture that will save up to 6,000 plastic bottles. With this initiative, Clàssica a la Platja takes another step towards sustainability, promoting waste reduction and encouraging a more environmentally friendly event.

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